Tourism Boost For The East Of England

Stansted Airport's teamed up with the East of England Tourism to try and make sure that people who fly into the UK's second biggest port stay here and don't just go straight to London.

Inbound travel's worth around £5b to the area, so attractions and cultural experiences are being promoted.

Nick Barton, the airports Commercial and Development Director said: "Inbound tourism is worth in excess of £5 billion a year to the region, and with over 150 destinations on our route network, Stansted is firmly positioned as the East of England's principal gateway for visitors arriving by air.

"Millions of foreign visitors already take advantage of our road and rail connections to London.  This promotion is aimed at highlighting to travellers the diversity of cultural experiences on offer in the East of England in an effort to further boost inbound tourism to the region.

"Stansted has more scheduled connections across Europe than any other UK airport, and with our popular long haul connections to Asia and Australia, and new link to the USA starting next month, we're gearing up to welcome many more overseas visitors into the East of England via Stansted."

Keith Brown, Chief Executive, East of England Tourism added: "East of England Tourism is pleased to be working with BAA Stansted on this promotion to encourage travellers, who normally pass through the airport onwards to London and beyond, to come back and enjoy the East of England and all that we have to offer. Popular places for visitors close to Stansted include Cambridge, Ely, Duxford, Newmarket and the Lee Valley area.

"We want to emphasis how easy it is to visit some of the outstanding locations that are so close to Stansted.  Cambridge is just a short drive away, with all of its history and culture available to visitors."